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THE    F     GUTCKUN^I    CO     PRINT. 


3V?to  Pardee 

Born  November  19,  1810 
Died  March  26,  1892 


Memorial  Address 

Delivered  at 

Lafayette  College 

Founder's  Day,  October  Twenty-third,  1892 

By 

William  C.  Cattell,  D.D.,  LLD. 

Ex-President  of  the  College 


PRINTED  BY  ORDER  OF  THE  BOARD  OF  TRUSTEES 


Easton,  Pennsylvania 


Published  bv  Order  of  the  Board  of  Trustees 


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INTRODUCTORY 

BY 

Ethelbert  D.  Warfield,  LL.D., 

President  of  Lafayette  College. 


The  first  step  in  the  founding  of  Lafayette  College  was  taken 
on  the  evening  of  December  27,  1824,  when  a  small  company  of 
earnest  and  patriotic  men  met  in  the  little  hotel  which  then  stood 
upon  the  northeast  corner  of  the  public  square  in  Easton.  They 
were  men  of  promptitude  in  action  and  at  once  fixed  upon  a  plan, 
and  gave  to  the  College  of  their  expectation  that  name  which,  now 
borne  by  the  College  of  our  affection,  seems  so  fitting  and  so  full 
of  the  inspiration  of  unselfish  devotion.  A  charter  was  speedily 
secured  and  the  Hon.  James  Madison  Porter,  LL.  D.,  became  the 
president  of  the  first  Board  of  Trustees.  But,  though  there  was  a 
purpose  and  a  plan,  for  a  long  time  the  hand  was  lacking  which 
should  realize  them.  At  last  the  Trustees  found  the  ;man  they 
sought,  and  in  the  providence  of  God  the  Rev.  George  Junkin, 
D.  D.,  laid  the  foundations  of  this  institution.  On  the  9th  day  of 
May,  1832,  the  college  began  its  work  on  the  south  bank  of  the 
Lehigh  River.  A  more  suitable  site  was  shortly  afterwards  secured 
on  the  present  campus,  and  in  June,  1833,  tne  ground  was  broken 
for  the  first  permanent  building. 

Years  of  struggle  followed  the  inauguration  of  the  first  founder's 
work.  Years  of  hope  and  discouragement,  years  of  self-sacrifice 
and  hard  earned  successes.  At  last  in  the  dark  days  of  the 
Rebellion  the  college  seemed  on  the  point  of  failure.  Then  it 
was  that  the  Trustees  calling  to  their  aid  the  Rev.  Wm.  C.  Cattell, 
found  in  him  the  second  founder  of  the  college.  By  God's  grace 
he  brought  success  out  of  discouragement,  revived  the  hopes,  and 
re-established  the  confidence  of  the  community.  He  was  sur- 
rounded by  devoted  men  in  the  faculty  and  won  to  his  aid  assistance 


from  many  till  then  unknown,  but  henceforth  to  be  remembered  as 
long  as  these  walls  abide.  First  among  these  was  he  whose  memory 
we  to-day  are  met  to  honor — Ario  Pardee,  Esq.,  the  founder  of 
the  Scientific  Department,  the  princely  giver,  the  wise  counselor, 
the  faithful  head  of  the  Board  of  Trustees. 

Dr.  Cattell  has  been  invited  to  recall  to-day  not  merely  the 
man  who  gave  so  nobly  of  all  he  possessed,  and  of  all  he  was,  to 
the  college,  but  also  those  events  so  critical  and  so  fortunate  in 
which  they  were  fellow  laborers.  He  has  been  asked  to  lay  aside 
all  reserve  and  tell  the  story  of  the  awakening  of  Mr.  Pardee's 
interest  in  the  college,  of  its  growth  and  final  fruitage,  and  of  its 
mellow  fullness ;  to  tell  all  this  that  we  who  are  entered  into  these 
seats  may  appreciate  all  that  was  accomplished  in  the  twenty  years 
of  fellow  service.  In  1863  only  a  part  of  old  South  College 
crowned  this  glorious  hill;  in  1883  these  grounds  were  already 
substantially  what  we  now  behold  them.  It  is  well  for  us  to 
remember  these  days  of  struggle  and  triumph.  Well,  that  we  may 
honor  the  men  who  did  so  much  for  Lafayette  College,  well  that 
we  may  learn  to  emulate  and  imitate  the  noble  spirit  which  was 
theirs. 

It  now  gives  me  great  pleasure  to  present  to  you  the  Rev.  Wm. 
C.  Cattell,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  Ex-president  of  Lafayette  College,  whom 
we  may  well  name  with  Junkin  and  Pardee  among  the  founders  of 
the  college. 


MEMORIAL  ADDRESS 

BY 

William  C.  Cattell,  D.D.,  LL.D. 

Ex-President  of  Lafayette  College. 


Eighteen  years  ago,  October  20,  1874,  the  following  action 
was  taken  by  the  Faculty  of  Lafayette  College  and  ordered  to  be 
placed  upon  its  records  for  all  the  generations  of  Lafayette : 

Resolved,  That  to-morrow,  the  twenty-first  day  of  October,  being  the  first 
anniversary  of  the  formal  opening  and  dedication  of  Pardee  Hall,  the  usual  lec- 
tures and  recitations  be  suspended,  and  the  day  marked  by  appropriate  exercises  ; 
and  that  hereafter  the  Wednesday  following  the  twenty-first  day  of  October  in 
each  year  be  recognized  as  the  anniversary  of  the  founding  and  gift  of  Pardee 
Hall,  and  that  it  be  set  apart  forever  by  Lafayette  College,  its  Faculty  and  students, 
under  the  name  of  Founder's  Day,  as  a  commemoration  of  the  founder,  ARIO 
PARDEE. 

During  all  these  intervening  years,  at  each  recurring  "  anni- 
versary of  the  formal  opening  and  dedication  of  Pardee  Hall,"  the 
Faculty  and  students  of  Lafayette  College  have,  as  one  of  the  "  ap- 
propriate exercises"  of  the  day,  assembled  in  this  spacious  and 
beautiful  Auditorium  to  listen  to  an  address.  On  these  occasions, 
members  of  the  Faculty  and  other  eminent  men  have  discussed 
such  topics  in  Literature  or  in  Science  as  are  befitting  the  thought- 
ful attention  of  a  company  of  Christian  scholars. 

But  during  the  past  year  the  great  benefactor  of  the  College 
has  been  borne  to  his  honored  grave,  and  the  Faculty  have  fittingly 
directed  that  what  is  said  on  this  Founder's  Day  shall  be  said  of 
him,  especially  of  what  he  was  to  Lafayette.  To  be  sure,  in  every 
address  upon  Founder's  Day  there  have  been  appropriate  and  grate- 
ful references  to  his  munificent  gifts,  which  have  rendered  possible 
the  great  work  at  Lafayette  in  the  wide  reach  of  its  Scientific  and 
Technical  Courses.  But  the  generations  of  student  life  come  and 
go  ;  there  are  now  upon  the  roll  of  the  College  the  children  of 
those  who  were  undergraduates  when  Mr.  Pardee  first  gave  to  the 
College  the  forward  movement  which  has  resulted  in  the  Lafayette 


8 

of  to-day ;  many  of  his  associates  in  the  Board  of  Trustees  and 
many  of  the  honored  members  of  the  Faculty,  who  were  witnesses 
of  his  timely  and  munificent  aid,  have  passed  away  ;  and  although 
the  name  of  Ario  Pardee  will  ever  be  a  household  word  with  the 
Alumni  and  all  other  lovers  of  Lafayette,  yet  something  more  than 
detached  and  fragmentary  references  to  him  is  needed,  in  order  that 
the  memory  of  what  he  really  was  and  of  what  he  really  did  for  the 
College  may  not  become  dimmed  in  the  fast  receding  years. 

The  Faculty  therefore,  judging  this  Founder's  Day  to  be  a 
fitdng  time  for  a  memorial  address,  have  invited  one  to  be  the 
speaker  who  during  the  time  of  Mr.  Pardee's  great  work  for  the 
College  was  in  very  close  official  relations  with  him,  and  whom 
Mr.  Pardee  honored  with  his  personal  friendship  for  so  many  years; 
and  after  what  your  honored  President  in  his  introduction  this 
morning  has  been  so  kind  to  say  I  need  offer  no  apology  to  you  for 
introducing  my  own  personality  in  what  I  shall  say  of  Mr.  Pardee, 
nor  need  I  apologize  to  the  older  members  of  the  Faculty  if  I  re- 
peat what  may  be  familiar  to  them,  for  the  benefit  of  the  younger 
members  of  my  audience. 

But  before  I  speak  of  the  happy  day  when  Mr.  Pardee  first 
became  interested  in  the  College  we  all  so  much  love,  let  me  give 
you,  in  a  brief  statement,  some  facts  of  general  interest  in  his  life. 

Ario  Pardee  was  born  in  the  town  of  Chatham,  Columbia 
County,  New  York,  November  19,  1810.  He  has  told  me,  how- 
ever, that  his  earliest  recollections  were  of  his  father's  farm  in  Ste- 
phentown,  near  New  Lebanon  Springs,  Rensselaer  County,  New 
York,  where  he  led  the  usual  life  of  a  farmer's  boy  until  his  twentieth 
year.    In  a  letter  to  me  Mr.  Pardee  once  said  : 

My  education  was  limited  to  what  I  learned  at  my  father's  fireside  and  the 
ordinary  district  school;  though,  fortunately,  I  had  for  a  time  the  advantage  of  an 
excellent  teacher  in  the  Rev.  Moses  Hunter,  a  Presbyterian  clergyman  who,  to 
eke  out  a  scanty  salary,  taught  our  district  school  two  winters.  I  was  then  fifteen 
years  old,  and  his  teaching  about  finished  my  school  education,  though  I  was  an 
industrious  worker  at  my  books  at  home. 

In  June,  1830,  Mr.  Edwin  A.  Douglas,  who,  as  a  fellow  towns- 
man, had  known  Mr.  Pardee  from  childhood,  offered  him  the  posi- 
tion of  rodman  in  the  engineer  corps  of  the  Delaware  and  Raritan 
Canal,  in  New  Jersey.  Mr.  Pardee  often  referred  to  the  reception 
of  this  letter,  the  turning  point  of  his  life.  He  was  out  in  the  field 
plowing  when  it  was  brought  to  him  from  the  house.  He  stopped 
his  work  long  enough  to  assure  himself  that  the  letter  summoned 
him  from  his  boyhood's  home,  to  go  out  into  the  wide  world  to  begin 


a  career  for  himself  among  strangers  ;  then,  with  characteristic 
fidelity  to  the  duty  in  hand,  he  resumed  and  finished  his  days'  work. 
This  was  on  Saturday.  Before  daylight  on  the  following  Monday 
he  set  out  from  home,  joining  Mr.  Douglas  and  corps  on  the  pre- 
liminary survey  of  the  canal,  a  few  miles  from  Trenton.  With  him 
and  Mr.  Canvass  White,  the  chief  engineer  of  the  canal  company, 
he  remained  until  the  canal  was  fully  located,  when  he  was  stationed 
first  at  Princeton  with  Mr.  George  T.  Olmstead,  who  had  charge 
of  the  middle  division  of  the  canal,  and  then  with  Mr.  Ashbel 
Welsh  at  Lambertville.  In  May,  1832,  still  under  Mr.  Douglas  and 
Mr.  White,  he  was  transferred  to  Pennsylvania  to  make  the  survey 
and  location  of  the  Beaver  Meadow  Railroad  from  the  mines  of 
that  company  to  the  Lehigh  Canal  at  Mauch  Chunk.  The  young 
rodman  had  by  this  time  exhibited  to  his  employers  those  sterling 
traits  of  character  which  his  whole  life  afterwards  exemplified — un- 
tiring industry,  a  sound  judgment,  good  practical  common  sense 
and  an  unswerving  fidelity  to  duty ;  and  though  without  the  ad- 
vantage of  special  training  in  technical  schools,  indeed  with  only 
the  very  meagre  common  school  education  to  which  his  letter  refers, 
he  was  soon  advanced  to  the  front,  and  the  entire  charge  of  the  work 
upon  the  Beaver  Meadow  road  was  entrusted  to  him.  This  was 
before  he  had  reached  his  twenty-fifth  year.  His  removal  to  Hazle- 
ton  shall  be  told  in  his  own  words ;  I  quote  from  a  letter  of  his 
written  to  me  many  years  ago  : 

In  the  Fall  of  1836  the  road  was  finished  and  the  shipment  of  coal  com- 
menced. I  then  resigned  my  position,  and  after  visiting  my  parents  who  had 
moved  to  Michigan,  I  took  up  my  quarters  in  the  month  of  February,  1837,  at 
Hazleton,  having  previously  located  a  railroad  from  the  Hazleton  coal  mines  to 
the  Beaver  Meadow  railroad  at  Weatherly.  We  finished  that  road  and  com- 
menced shipping  coal  in  the  Spring  of  1838,  and  I  continued  in  the  employ  of 
the  Hazleton  Railroad  and  Coal  Company  as  their  superintendent  until  1840, 
when  I  commenced  business  in  Hazleton  as  a  coal  operator,  which  I  have  con- 
tinued up  to  this  time. 

In  addition  to  his  growing  business  as  a  coal  operator,  Mr. 
Pardee  took  in  hand,  one  after  another,  great  business  interests  in 
other  pars  of  this  State  and  in  other  States,,  and  in  Canada  as  well 
— adding  to  his  wealth  year  by  year,  until  through  his  well-directed 
and  untiring  energy,  his  enterprise,  his  business  sagacity,  joined 
with  rare  administrative  ability,  there  came  to  him  a  fortune  which, 
though  he  always  said  it  was  largely  over-estimated  by  the  public, 
was  yet  a  fortune  of  which,  when  following  the  plow  upon  his 
father's  farm,  he  had  little  dreamed. 


He  continued  to  reside  in  Hazleton  from  1840  until  his  death, 
which  occurred  in  the  early  Spring  of  this  year,  while  he  was  on  a  visit 
to  Florida.  There,  after  a  brief  and  painless  illness,  tenderly  minis- 
tered to  by  his  devoted  wife  and  the  two  daughters  who,  with  his 
family  physician,  accompanied  him,  he  peacefully  breathed  his  last. 

It  was  in  the  Fall  of  1864  when  Mr.  Pardee,  then  in  his  fifty- 
fourth  year,  had  his  attention  first  called  to  Lafayette  College.  It 
was  perhaps  at  the  most  discouraging  period  in  the  history  of  the 
College ;  I  say  the  most  discouraging,  and  this  means  a  great  deal, 
for  Lafayette,  like  all  colleges  in  their  early  history,  had  a  pro- 
longed struggle  with  adversity.  More  than  once  its  very  existence 
hung  upon  a  slender  thread — in  1849  and  again  in  1851  its  gradu- 
ating class  numbered  only  three  !  Its  Founder  and  first  President, 
Dr.  George  Junkin,  was  a  man  of  great  endowments,  mental  and 
moral,  and  he  was  a  marvel  of  devotion  to  the  College.  Associated 
with  him  in  the  Faculty  were  eminent  scholars  and  teachers,  and 
from  its  comparatively  small  number  of  students  the  College  sent 
forth  men  who  made  their  mark  in  the  world.  But  the  College  was 
always  hampered  in  its  work  by  the  lack  of  means  and  other  adverse 
influences.  From  1832,  when  the  first  classes  were  formed,  to  1863, 
when  the  scholarly  and  devoted  McPhail  retired  from  the  Presidency, 
there  were  (including  Dr.  Junkin's  two  terms)  no  less  than  six  admin- 
istrations— each  President  struggling  for  an  average  of  five  years  and 
then,  worn  out  and  disheartened,  abandoning  the  almost  hopeless 
work  to  another.  Under  the  last  two  of  these  Presidents  I  myself 
served  as  a  professor,  and  I  well  know  of  their  heroic  but  ineffectual 
struggles  to  establish  the  College  upon  a  firm  and  secure  foundation. 
When  Dr.  McPhail  resigned  the  country  was  in  the  throes  of  the 
Civil  War;  and  so  little  breath  was  left  in  the  College  that  in  1863 
the  Annual  Commencement  was  altogether  omitted,  and  a  meet- 
ing of  the  Trustees  was  called  "  to  consider  the  propriety  of  sus- 
pending operations  under  increasing  embarrassments." 

I  was  elected  President  of  the  College  in  October,  1863,  and 
resigning  my  happy  pastoral  charge  at  Harrisburg,  immediately 
entered  upon  the  duties  of  the  office.  My  inauguration  took  place 
during  the  following  Commencement,  and  the  new  College  year 
began  in  September,  1864,  with  a  Freshman  class  of  six — increased 
to  ten  before  the  year  closed. 

Of  course,  the  financial  problem  confronted  us  at  every  turn. 
The  whole  amount  of  the  salaries  paid  to  the  professors  was  $4900, 
and  the  income  of  the  College  was  not  quite  $3200;  naturally,  the 
College  was  in  debt,  and  it  was  generally  agreed  that  unless  the 


prodigious  sum,  as  it  seemed  to  us  in  those  days,  of  $30,000  was 
secured  within  a  year,  the  Board  of  Trustees  would  have  to  consider, 
not  the  "propriety"  but  the  necessity  of  suspending  operations. 
To  emphasize  still  further  the  importance  of  securing  this  great 
sum,  let  me  add  that  a  gentleman  in  New  York  had  promised,  if  it 
should  be  secured  within  a  year,  to  pay  the  entire  debt  of  the  College. 

At  this  crisis  in  the  history  of  Lafayette  Mr.  Pardee  appeared 
upon  the  scene.  But  it  was  not  until  more  than  eleven  months  of 
the  year  had  passed — months,  I  can  assure  you,  of  anxious  and 
exhausting  toil  on  the  part  of  the  new  President,  and  with  only  one- 
third  of  the  sum  needed  to  save  the  College  actually  secured. 

It  was  towards  the  close  of  the  year  that  I  sought  an  interview 
with  Mr.  Pardee,  of  whom  I  knew  but  little  beyond  the  fact  that 
he  resided  at  Hazelton,  was  a  prosperous  man  of  business  and  a 
regular  attendant  upon  the  Presbyterian  Church.  The  pulpit  was 
vacant,  and  I  occupied  it  upon  a  Sabbath  in  September  1864,  and 
was  the  guest  of  Mr.  Pardee.  During  the  Sabbath  day  little  was 
said  about  the  College,  but  enough  for  me  to  learn  that  Mr.  Pardee 
scarcely  knew  of  its  existence ;  in  fact,  he  told  me  that  he  had 
never  been  in  Easton,  except  to  spend  occasionally  a  night  there  at 
some  hostelry  in  the  old  stage  times,  when  the  passengers  to  New 
York  and  Philadelphia  from  the  mining  region  were  accustomed  to 
break  their  journey  for  the  night  at  Easton. 

But  on  Monday,  as  we  walked  to  and  fro  in  the  beautiful  and 
spacious  grounds  which  surrounded  his  mansion,  Mr.  Pardee,  busy 
man  as  he  was,  courteously  gave  me  an  opportunity  to  discuss  with 
him  the  whole  subject.  He  listened  patiently  and  attentively  as  I 
told  him  the  story  of  the  College,  its  long-continued  and  heroic 
struggles  to  carry  on  its  work,  and  its  present  specially  embar- 
rassed condition  which  made  its  future  seem  almost  hopeless.  But 
to  all  this  his  reply  was  characteristic  of  a  man  who,  immersed  in 
business,  had  thought  but  little  of  liberal  studies  and  of  the  aim 
and  object  which  a  college  education  has  in  view.  "  Why  don't 
you  throw  it  up,"  said  he,  "  if  it  doesn't  pay  ?  That's  what  we 
do  when  we  strike  a  vein  of  coal  that  doesn't  pay  us  to  work."  Of 
course,  this  led  to  an  attemp  on  my  part  to  show  him  that  a  college 
was  carried  on  with  a  very  different  object  in  view  from  that  in 
working  a  coal  mine,  or  in  carrying  on  any  business  operation 
where  the  return  looked  for  is  pecuniary  gain ;  that  every  college 
in  the  country  was  more  or  less  an  eleemosynary  institution — even 
at  Yale  and  Harvard  and  Princeton,  where  there  was  the  largest 
number  of  students,  the  tuition  fees  never  fully  paid  the  salaries  of 


the  professors ;  that  while  in  Germany  and  other  countries  on  the 
continent  of  Europe,  college  and  university  studies  were  included 
in  the  education  provided  by  the  Government,  in  this  country, 
although  a  common  school  education  was  afforded  to  all  by  the 
State,  the  pursuit  of  liberal  studies  would  be  limited  mainly  to 
the  sons  of  rich  men,  unless  generous  gifts  for  the  support  of  pro- 
fessors in  colleges  and  universities  should  be  made  by  those  whom 
God  had  blessed  with  wealth  and  the  disposition  to  use  it  for  the 
benefit  of  their  fellow  men,  and,  I  added,  "such  a  man  I  take  you 
to  be." 

The  minutest  incident  of  that  hour  is  deeply  graven  on  my 
memory.  I  can  recall  now,  with  the  distinctness  with  which  I  recall 
the  events  of  yesterday,  that  Mr.  Pardee,  after  several  minutes  of 
silence,  said  :  "Yes  ;  I  see.  I  thought  you  had  come  to  Hazleton 
to  preach  ;  but  you  came  here  to  ask  me  for  money  to  carry  on  a 
college.  I  would  really  like  to  know  how  much  you  expected  to 
get  from  a  plain  business  man  like  me."  Had  anyone  assured  me 
when  I  left  home  for  Hazleton  to  talk  about  Lafayette  College  with 
a  rich  man  whom  I  had  never  before  met,  that  he  would  have  given 
me  a  thousand  dollars,  or  even  five  hundred,  a  jubilate  would  have 
broken  from  my  lips  !  But  God  put  it  in  my  heart  then  and  there 
to  say :  "  Mr.  Pardee,  I  trust  you  will  give  us  twenty  thousand  dol- 
lars " — though  I  added,  as  he  looked  fixedly  in  my  face  :  "This 
is  a  great  sum  of  money  even  for  a  rich  man  like  you  to  give,  and 
you  know  nothing  of  our  great  work  and  of  our  great  need,  except 
what  I  have  told  you  to-day.  Come  to  Easton  ;  look  over  the 
whole  ground  for  yourself;  talk  with  the  professors  at  their  homes 
— and  then  decide." 

Without  a  moment's  hesitation  he  said  :  "  No  ;  I  understand 
it  all  now  as  well  as  if  I  should  come  to  Easton.  I  will  give  you  the 
twenty  thousand  dollars  now. ' ' 

He  turned  away  abruptly  and  entered  the  house  ;  and  while  I 
stood  in  a  sort  of  daze — wondering  if  I  had  rightly  understood  him 
or  whether,  indeed,  it  was  not  all  a  delicious  dream — he  returned 
and  placed  in  my  hand  his  note  for  twenty  thousand  dollars  payable 
in  six  months,  with  his  check  for  six  hundred  dollars  as  the  inter- 
est ;  then  bidding  me  good  morning,  he  hastened  to  his  office, 
while  I  stood,  more  dazed  than  ever,  but  grasping  tighter  and 
tighter  the  twenty  thousand  dollars  I  held  in  my  hand. 

How  I  reached  the  cars,  or  how  I  got  home,  whether  in  the 
body  or  out  of  the  body,  I  can  hardly  tell.  But  I  know  that  the 
delectable  mountains  were  all  round  about  me  that  day — for  the 


thirty  thousand  dollars  were  now  secured,  the  debt  would  be  paid, 
and  the  College  was  saved  ! 

And  I  remember  that  I  reached  Easton  in  the  early  evening  of 
the  same  day,  and  that  at  the  door  of  my  residence  (then  on  Fourth 
street)  stood  one  to  welcome  me  home,  whose  gentle  and  loving 
sympathy  in  my  work  had  cheered  and  strengthened  me  during  the 
disheartening  toil  of  long,  weary  months.  Again  and  again  had  I 
returned  home,  after  days  and  sometimes  weeks  of  absence,  to  say 
to  her:  "No;  not  one  person  has  given  or  promised  me  a  dollar 
for  the  College."  And  even  as  the  year  drew  to  its  close  with  so 
little  accomplished,  it  was  she  who  always  had  the  brave  heart  and 
the  cheerful  look,  and  it  was  she  who  always  inspired  me  with  hope, 
as  I  went  forth  again  to  plead  for  the  College.  When  I  took  leave 
of  her  on  Saturday  morning  she  had  said,  "I  cannot  but  believe 
that  the  gentleman  in  Hazleton,  whom  you  are  going  to  see,  will 
give  you  something  for  the  College."  On  my  way  home  I  had  met 
with  several  friends,  but  not  to  any  one  of  them  did  I  tell  what  "the 
gentleman  in  Hazleton"  had  given  me,  or  speak  of  the  joy  with 
which  my  heart  was  so  throbbing  that  it  seemed  as  if  it  would  burst. 
No ;  it  was  to  her  I  should  first  tell  it ;  and  a  score  of  times  had  I 
put  together  the  very  words  in  which  I  would  announce  it.  But 
when  I  stood  face  to  face  with  her  not  a  word  could  I  speak  !  I  just 
looked  at  her,  and  I  think  she  feared  another  disappointment  and 
rebuff  had  been  too  much  for  me  and  that  I  had  gone  clean  daft. 
But  at  last  I  managed  to  say:  "There,  read  that,"  as  I  put  Mr. 
Pardee's  note  in  her  hand.  All  the  brave  words  I  had  so  carefully 
put  together,  in  which  to  make  the  announcement  of  this  munifi- 
cent gift  dwindled  to  just  these  three  !  She  hurriedly  read  the  note 
and  then  looked  wonderingly  at  me  for  a  moment ;  once  more  she 
read  it,  and  looking  again  at  me,  but  with  eyes  now  dimmed  with 
tears  of  emotion,  she  said:  "  What  does  this  mean?" — but  I  must 
not  dwell  upon  the  scene  that  followed  when  I  told  her  what  it 
really  meant ;  that  it  was  a  gift  of  twenty  thousand  dollars  and 
that  the  College  was  saved  ! 

Another  sacred  memory  comes  to  me  of  that  day,  when  later  in 
the  evening  I  climbed  College  Hill,  and  entered  the  room  in  Old 
South,  where  the  Faculty  were  holding  their  weekly  meeting. 
Many  a  time  had  I  come  back  to  them  too  with  the  story  of  my  dis- 
appointment and  discouragement.  Now  and  then  indeed  at  these 
meetings  (for  I  always  planned  to  attend  them)  I  could  tell  my  col- 
leagues of  some  success — the  fifty  dollars  I  had  received  from  one 
man,  or  a  hundred  from  another ;  but  mainly  it  was  the  same  old  story, 


14 

and  they  knew  that  the  year  in  which  the  $30,000  was  to  be  secured 
was  drawing  to  a  close,  with  only  ten  thousand  in  sight.  For  weeks 
I  had  brought  to  them  no  cheering  word,  and  I  must  leave  you  to 
judge  of  the  effect  produced  by  Mr.  Pardee's  note  which,  without 
a  word  of  explanation,  and  struggling  to  conceal  the  emotion  which 
thrilled  every  nerve  of  my  body,  I  handed  the  clerk  to  read.  Only 
this  I  will  add  :  there  was  an  unbroken  silence  for  several  minutes. 
It  seemed  as  though  no  word  could  be  spoken  by  us  to  each  other. 
At  last  the  profound  and  solemn  silence  was  broken  by  the  voice  of 
prayer.  The  venerable  Dr.  Coleman,  who  when  the  clerk  read 
Mr.  Pardee's  note  had  bowed  his  head  on  the  table,  rose  to  his 
feet,  lifted  his  hands  towards  Heaven,  and  with  a  voice  tremulous 
with  emotion,  invoked  God's  blessing  on  the  donor.  Then  we  all 
turned  away,  each  to  his  home,  without  another  word. 

I  have  purposely  dwelt  upon  this  first  great  donation  to 
Lafayette  College,  made  at  a  most  critical  period  in  its  history,  not 
only  because  it  was  the  beginning  of  the  new  Lafayette,  but  because 
it  was  for  those  days  a  very  large  sum  to  be  given  to  any  college. 
The  era  of  munificent  gifts  for  educational  purposes  had  not  yet 
dawned. 

Had  Mr.  Pardee  given  me  $50  or  $500,  I  have  no  doubt  that 
it  would  have  been  a  purpose  of  mine  to  seize  some  favorable  oppor- 
tunity, as  my  work  went  on,  to  again  ask  him  for  help.  But  so 
overwhelmingly  munificent  was  his  donation,  the  largest  for  any 
educational  purpose  which  had  ever  been  made  in  Pennsylvania, 
that  at  the  time  I  had  no  thought  of  ever  appealing  to  Mr.  Pardee 
again.  I  did  not  know  indeed  that  I  should  again  look  upon  his 
face.  He  had  told  me  that  it  was  not  likely  he  should  come  to 
Easton,  and,  as  I  had  nothing  to  call  me  to  Hazleton,  it  seemed 
very  improbable  that  we  should  ever  meet.  Yet,  as  the  weeks  and 
months  wore  on,  and  the  effect  of  his  gift  was  seen  in  the  awakened 
interest  of  the  friends  of  the  College,  inspiring  them  with  hope 
and  confidence,  and  stimulating  them  to  new  exertions  in  its  be- 
half, so  that  its  success  seemed  now  assured,  you  can  perhaps 
imagine  how  Mr.  Pardee  was,  in  the  homely  phrase,  "  though  lost 
to  sight,  to  memory  dear."  In  fact,  he  came  to  occupy  in  my 
thoughts  very  much  the  same  position  I  imagine  the  patron  saint 
occupies  in  the  thoughts  of  the  devout  Catholic,  who  does  not  doubt 
he  has  been  saved  by  him  from  shipwreck  !  I  longed  to  see  Mr. 
Pardee  once  more.  Believe  me,  it  was  not  with  the  thought  of 
further  enlisting  him  on  behalf  of  the  College.  I  simply  wanted  to 
look  again  on  one,  who  appeared  to  me  as  in  a  beatific  vision  on 


is 

that  memorable  day.  I  never  entered  a  railroad  car,  but  I  looked 
around,  hoping  that  he  might  be  there.  I  had  no  definite  purpose 
of  even  speaking  to  him,  least  of  all  about  the  College.  I  should 
have  been  satisfied  to  take  a  seat  where,  unobserved  by  him,  I  could 
look  upon  his  face.  One  evening  during  the  following  winter  at 
the  Girard  House  in  Philadelphia,  a  friend  casually  mentioned  that 
Mr.  Pardee  was  at  the  Continental  Hotel,  and  was  to  leave  at  5 
o'clock  in  the  morning  to  take  an  early  train  to  New  York.  Long 
before  5  o'clock  I  was  at  the  hotel  door  waiting  to  catch  a  glimpse 
of  him  as  he  came  out,  still  undetermined  whether  I  should  speak 
to  him.  But  when  he  appeared  I  could  not  resist  the  impulse  to 
step  up  to  him  and  give  him  my  hand.  He  received  me  in  his 
usual  quiet  way,  expressing  pleasure  at  the  accidental  meeting,  and 
complimenting  me  upon  my  habit  of  early  rising,  he  entered  the 
carriage  and  was  driven  off. 

More  than  a  year  after  I  got  that  undeserved  compliment  from 
Mr.  Pardee  about  my  early  rising,  I  met  him  in  a  railroad  car.  He 
courteously  invited  me  to  take  a  seat  with  him,  and  immediately 
asked  me  how  his  "investment  at  the  College  was  paying."  I 
assured  him  that,  while  it  was  paying  him  no  cash  dividends,  it  was 
bringing  a  most  happy  return  in  the  helpful  aid  it  was  to  the  Col- 
lege in  its  great  and  now  growing  work.  But  I  told  him  that  it 
would  bring  still  larger  returns  if  he  would  look  after  it  himself  by 
taking  a  seat  in  the  Board  of  Trustees.  At  first,  this  suggestion 
seemed  only  to  amuse  him.  "  What  do  I  know  about  the  manage- 
ment of  a  college  ?' '  said  he.  But  we  discussed  the  subject  pretty 
fully,  and  what  his  decision  was  may  be  seen  in  the  College  cata- 
logue of  the  next  year,  where  in  the  list  of  Trustees  appears  the 
name,  ARIO  PARDEE,  Esq.,  Hazleton,  Pennsylvania. 

To  the  duties  of  his  new  office  Mr.  Pardee  bestowed  the  same 
thoughtful  attention  which  he  gave  to  everything  he  undertook.  It 
was  soon  evident  to  all  his  colleagues  in  the  Board  that  he  did  know  a 
great  deal  about  "  the  management  of  a  college."  He  made  him- 
self thoroughly  acquainted  with  the  minutest  details,  and  was  soon 
convinced  that  at  Lafayette  College  as  well  as  in  many  business 
operations  in  which  he  had  invested,  "an  additional  assessment 
upon  the  capital  stock  already  paid  in"  was  rendered  very  desirable, 
if  not  absolutely  necessary,  by  the  enlargement  of  the  bii5iness  ! 
What  this  conviction  prompted  him  to  do,  and  how  quickly  it  was 
done,  is  best  told  in  the  "Announcement  of  the  College  Course  of 
Studies"  in  the  same  catalogue  which  first  contained  his  name 
as  a  Trustee.     After  the  usual  announcement  of  the  old  course 


i6 

of  liberal  studies  in  the  College  and  the  pledge  of  the  Trustees  to 
endeavor  to  give  it  "  greater  efficiency  year  by  year,"  it  is  added  : 

It  is  evident,  however,  that  the  number  of  students  in  our  country  is  great, 
and  constantly  increasing,  who  wish  to  study  the  Natural  Sciences,  Mathematics, 
Modern  Languages  and  Literature,  History,  Rhetoric,  Logic,  and  Mental  and 
Moral  Philosophy,  as  thoroughly  as  they  are  studied  in  our  best  colleges,  and  who 
would  be  glad  to  enjoy  the  culture  and  learned  habits  and  associations  of  college 
life,  but  who  will  not  study  Greek  and  Latin.  To  secure  these  advantages  for  such 
as  prefer  to  pursue  their  studies  at  Lafayette  College,  A.  Pardee,  Esq.,  of  Hazleton, 
Pennsylvania,  has  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  Trustees  the  sum  of  $100,000.  The 
Trustees  have  accordingly  established  such  a  course  under  the  name  of  the 
Pardee  Scientific  Course  in  Lafayette  College. 

The  further  statement  in  the  catalogue  that  the  "  Pardee  Scien- 
tific Course"  was  to  be  a  "part  of  our  present  collegiate  system, 
which  has  grown  up  under  the  fostering  care  of  the  Church,"  and 
that  as  far  as  possible  "  the  old  approved  methods  of  College  edu- 
cation would  be  retained  as  a  thoroughly  tried  means  of  securing 
the  culture  and  of  imparting  the  learning  becoming  a  Christian 
scholar"  was  received  by  educators  with  some  surprise.  They  were 
familiar  with  business  or  commercial  colleges,  in  which  students 
were  especially  prepared  for  a  business  life.  They  also  knew  what 
the  distinctly  Technical  schools  meant,  such  as  the  Rensselaer  at 
Troy  or  the  schools  for  Technical  instruction  which  were  co-ordinated 
with  some  of  our  older  colleges,  such  as  the  School  of  Mines  at 
Columbia  or  the  Sheffield  Scientific  School  at  Yale.  But  many 
persons  gravely  pondered  over  this  "new  departure"  at  Lafay- 
ette, where  all  the  students — Classical,  Scientific  and  Technical — 
from  their  Matriculation  day  to  their  Graduation,  made  one  college 
family  and  were  taught  and  governed  by  one  Faculty.  It  was  long 
before  it  came  to  be  understood  that  the  College  roll  showed  no 
other  division  than  the  long  established  one  of  four  classes — Seniors, 
Juniors,  Sophomores  and  Freshmen.  More  than  once  I  was  asked, 
"  Do  the  students  in  the  Pardee  Scientific  School  really  attend 
chapel  prayers  ?"  But  I  must  not  enlarge  upon  this.  As  I  have 
already  said,  I  am  here  this  morning  to  talk  to  you  about  Mr. 
Pardee,  not  to  discuss  even  those  educational  questions  involved  in 
the  Course  of  Scientific  and  Technical  studies  which  he  added  to 
the  curriculum  of  the  College. 

But  I  must  say  one  thing  in  this  connection.  Mr.  Pardee  fully 
shared  in  the  conviction  of  the  members  of  the  Board  and  of  the 
Faculty,  that  the  new  Course  should  have  the  same  Christian  char- 
acter which  had  been  impressed  upon  all  the  studies  of  the  College 
ever   since  its  foundations  were  laid  in  prayer  and    faith   by  Dr. 


17 

Junkin  a  generation  before.*  Mr.  Pardee  was  in  complete  accord 
with  the  view,  not  only  that  all  the  departments  of  instruction  at 
Lafayette  "should  be  in  the  hands  of  Christian  scholars,"  but  that 
in  the  new  Scientific  Department  no  less  than  in  the  old  College 
Course  there  should  be  "  a  systematic  and  thorough  study  of  the 
Word  of  God."  He  was  himself  a  reverent  and  diligent  student  of 
the  Bible.  His  pastor,  Rev.  J.  G.  Williamson,  in  a  sermon  preached 
on  the  Sabbath  after  the  death  of  Mr.  Pardee,  referred  to  his  "  cus- 
tom each  morning  to  go  into  his  library  and  spend  a  portion  of  an 
hour  in  reading  the  Scriptures,"  and  he  added  :  "  The  Bible  used  by 
him  at  such  times  is  all  thumbed  and  marked."  And  Mr.  Pardee 
always  spoke  with  the  highest  approval  of  the  announcement  of  the 
,'  Course  of  Biblical  Instruction,"  made  in  the  College  catalogue 
the  year  before  his  becoming  a  Trustee ;  of  which  the  concluding 
paragraph  is  this : 

The  truths  taught  in  the  Bible  in  relation  to  the  character,  powers  and  duties 
of  man  are  inculcated  as  fundamental  in  Mental  and  Moral  Philosophy,  and  the 
philosophy  of  history  is  identified  with  the  history  of  redemption.  It  is  designed 
to  make  the  Bible  the  central  object  of  study  in  the  whole  College  Course. 

With  these  great  additions  to  the  Funds  of  the  College  and 
to  its  Courses  of  Study,  the  Annual  Commencement  of  the  College 
in  1866,  as  may  readily  be  imagined,  was  a  time  not  only  of  great 
interest  but  of  great  rejoicing.  Never  in  all  its  history  had  there 
been  so  large  or  so  enthusiastic  a  gathering  of  its  Alumni  and  friends. 
Dr.  Junkin  and  Mr.  Pardee  were  both  present ;  the  observed  of  all 
observers,  as  they  will  always  be  the  central  figures  of  interest  when 
the  subject  of  Lafayette  College  is  uppermost  in  the  thoughts  of  men. 

And  now,  with  five  distinct  Courses  of  Study  fully  organized, 
with  a  large  and  able  Faculty  and  a  scientific  equipment  creditable 
for  those  days,  the  College  went  on  with  its  work — no  one  watching 
its  progress  more  closely  or  with  a  more  absorbing  interest  than 
Mr.  Pardee.  But  he  soon  became  convinced  that  a  still  larger 
addition  was  needed  to  its  funds  for  the  more  efficient  prosecution 
of  its  work,  and  in  a  letter  to  me,  July,  1868,  he  offered  to  add 
eighty  thousand  dollars  to  the  sum  ($120,000)  already  contributed 
by  him,  provided  other  friends  of  the  College  would  add  a  like  sum 
of  $200,000.  "  The  donations  for  this  purpose,"  says  the  College 
catalogue  of  the  next  year,  "completing  nearly  half  a  million  dol- 

*  Dr.  Junkin's  name  appears  in  the  list  of  the  Faculty  printed  in  the  same  catalogue  which 
announces  Mr.  Pardee's  accession  to  the  Board  of  Trustees.  He  had  resigned  the  Presidency  ot 
Washington  College,  Va.,  and  now,  as  Emeritus  Professor  of  Metaphysics  and  Lecturer  on  Po- 
litical Philosophy,  was  again  connected  with  the  Lafayette  of  his  early  love  and  of  his  self-denying 
and  devoted  labors. 


iS 

lars  lately  added  to  the  College  funds,  were  made  before  January 
ist,  1869,"  and  then  Mr.  Pardee  promptly  drew  his  check  for  the 
amount  of  his  new  subscription.* 

With  the  greatly  enlarged  number  of  professors  and  students, 
the  need  of  enlarged  accommodations  and  of  a  better  equipment  in 
the  way  of  apparatus  and  scientific  collections  was  seriously  felt. 
This  was  the  subject  of  frequent  discussion  between  Mr.  Pardee  and 
myself,  and  I  knew  very  well  just  what  would  be  the  outcome.  At 
a  meeting  of  the  Synod  of  Philadelphia,  held  in  Scranton  in  Octo- 
ber 1870,  I  discussed  fully  the  great  work  now  done  at  the  College 
in  its  various  departments  of  study  and  the  need  of  further  endow- 
ments for  the  support  of  the  professors,  as  well  as  the  need  of  new 
buildings,  additional  dormitories  and  professors'  houses,  a  chapel, 
a  gymnasium,  a  library  building,  etc.  I  emphasized  also  the  need 
of  a  building  specially  adapted  for  the  studies  in  the  new  Pardee 
Scientific  Department,  but  I  added  : 

Although  it  is  the  most  expensive  of  all  our  much  needed  improvements 
it  is  among  the  least  of  my  anxieties.  There  will  be  no  appeal  to  the  public  for 
this.  Only  let  it  be  seen  that  the  general  College  departments  are  provided  for 
by  the  Presbyterian  community,  upon  which,  in  all  directions,  are  radiating  from 
this  centre  of  high  education  such  manifold  blessings,  and  we  shall  soon  see  rising 
upon  College  Hill  a  building  that  shall  combine  the  best  features  of  the  most 
celebrated  Technological  institutions  of  this  country  and  of  Europe,  fitted  up  with 
all  the  appliances  of  modern  scientific  culture  and  every  way  worthy  of  the  en- 
larged and  comprehensive  views  of  the  munificent  founder  of  the  department. 

Of  course,  I  did  not  speak  these  words  unadvisedly.  In  fact, 
I  had  read  them  to  Mr.  Pardee  from  the  manuscript  of  my  address 
before  I  delivered  it.  He  simply  said  :  "  All  right  " — for  he  was 
a  man  of  few  words,  though  they  were  always  to  the  point.  In  the 
following  Summer  Mr.  Pardee,  seated  in  the  study  at  my  house, 
asked  me  for  a  sheet  of  paper  and  rapidly  wrote  these  two  pages 
which  I  shall  read  to  you  from  his  manuscript — you  will  see  that 
what  he  here  says  is  also  to  the  point : 

Easton,  Pa.,  July  24,  1871. 
Dr.  W.  C.  Cattell. 

My  Dear  Sir  : — We  have  had  many  conversations  as  to  the  proposed  build- 
ing for  the  Scientific  school,  but  so  far  have  arrived  at  no  definite  conclusion, 
except  that  a  building  is  absolutely  necessary  and  must  be  built  at  no  distant 

♦When  the  history  of  the  College  in  those  days  is  written,  there  will  be  grateful  mention  of 
what  was  done  by  otbers  whose  gifts  for  the  enlargement  of  Lafayette  were  added  to  those  of 
Mr.  Pardee.  By  far  the  larger  part  of  all  the  donations  to  Lafayette  College  during  my 
administration  was  made  by  the  Trustees  who,  like  Mr.  Pardee,  gave  also  in  its  service  so  much 
time  and  labor  out  of  their  busy  lives.  I  can  here  write  only  the  honored  names  of  those  gener- 
ous members  of  the  Board  who  have  passed  away  : — William  Adamson  and  Morris  Patterson,  of 
Philadelphia  ;  Thomas  Beaver,  of  Danville,  Pa. ;  B.  G.  Clarke,  of  New, York  City  ;  Joseph  H 
Scranton  and  Thomas  Dickson,  of  Scranton,  Pa.,  and  G.  Dawson  Coleman,  ot  Lebanon,  Pa. 


19 

period  of  time.  The  growing  wants  of  the  College  from  the  present  and  large 
prospective  increase  in  the  number  of  students  surely  indicate  that  that  time  is 
now.  Will  you  therefore  submit  the  plan  of  the  interioriprepared  by  the  Faculty 
last  Winter,  or  such  amended  plan  as  on  further  consideration  is  deemed  prefer- 
able to  competent  architects  for  a  plan  of  the  exterior,  with  estimates  of  its  cost  ? 
The  material  to  be  stone.  The  style  plain  and  substantia],  yet  such  as  may  not 
look  out  of  place  in  the  beautiful  natural  scenery  with  which  it  will  be  surrounded. 
The  cost  not  to  exceed  Two  Hundred  Thousand  Dollars.  If  the  plans  can  be 
prepared  in  time,  it  would  be  my  wish  to  put  in  the  foundations  this  Fall,  that  they 
may  have  the  benefit  of  the  Winter  settling.  While  I  do  not,  as  in  my  former 
gifts  to  the  College  endowments,  make  my  contribution  of  the  cost  of  this  building 
conditioned  on  an  equal  sum  being  raised  by  other  friends  of  the  Institution,  yet  I 
shall  be  much  disappointed  if  in  the  cost  of  other  needed  buildings  and  contribu- 
tions to  the  Endowment  Fund  they  do  not  place  themselves  on  more  than  an 
equality  with  me. 

Respectfully  yours, 

A.  Pardee. 

The  construction  of  the  building  commenced  in  the  early- 
Spring  of  1872,  Mr.  Pardee  watching  the  progress  of  the  work  with 
intense  interest.  Fully  occupied  as  he  was  in  his  varied  and  ex- 
tended business  operations,  he  found  time  to  give  it  his  personal 
attention.  Nothing  seemed  to  escape  his  notice.  I  recall  his  com- 
ing over  to  my  house  one  day  with  his  hands  daubed  with  mortar. 
Noticing  that  I  observed  it  as  he  went  up  to  his  room,  he  said 
"Yes,  I  have  just  come  from  the  new  Hall  where  I  pulled  down  a 
portion  of  the  walls ;  they  were  not  put  up  right !  " 

The  building  was  finished  in  the  Fall  of  1873,  Mr.  Pardee 
adding  to  his  original  donation  of  $200,000,  the  entire  cost  of  the 
furnishing  and  the  Scientific  equipment,  making  his  gift  for  the 
Hall  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  Million  of  Dollars. 

Then  came  the  great  day,  October  21  1873,  observed  as  a 
general  holiday  in  Easton  and  the  neighboring  towns  and  villages, 
when  the  magnificent  building  was  dedicated.  In  the  presence  of  a 
distinguished  Assemblage  that  crowded  every  part  of  the  Auditor- 
ium, R.  W.  Raymond,  Ph.  D.,  Lecturer  upon  Mining  Engineering 
in  the  College  and  President  of  the  American  Institute  of  Mining 
Engineers,  delivered  an  address  full  of  noble  thoughts.  Himself 
eminent  among  the  Scientists  of  our  day  he  discussed  with  masterly 
ability  the  curriculum  of  the  new  Department,  and  showed  the  ad- 
mirable adaptation  of  the  Hall  for  Scientific  and  Technical  studies. 
Mr.  Pardee's  munificent  gifts  had  brought  this  scientific  education 
within  reach  of  the  masses,  and  referring  to  this  as  an  illustration  of 
the  beneficent  use  of  wealth,  Dr.  Raymond  said :  "  Such  wealth 
ought    never  to    rouse  the   faintest  sigh  of  envy.      Every  poor 


man  in  Pennsylvania  has  reason  to  be  glad  and  give  thanks 
to-day  that  Ario  Pardee  is  rich."  And  the  great  Auditorium  rang 
with  applauding  cheers.  In  the  afternoon  there  was  an  imposing 
procession  of  the  authorities  of  the  Borough  and  of  the  adjoin- 
ing towns,  together  with  various  civic  and  military  organiza- 
tions of  the  Valley,  the  schools  and  many  citizens,  which,  after 
parading  the  streets  of  Easton,  visited  the  College  grounds.  In 
the  presence  of  this  vast  throng  of  many  thousands  gathered  in 
front  of  the  Hall,  Mr.  Pardee,  holding  the  keys  in  his  hand,  ad- 
dressed me  in  these  few  but  well-chosen  words  : 

The  completion  of  this  building  makes  it  a  very  pleasant  duty,  on  behalf  of  the 
Building  Committee,  and  myself  as  the  donor,  to  formally  present  it  to  you  as  the 
representative  of  the  Trustees  and  Faculty  of  Lafayette.  The  building  itself 
speaks  of  the  skill  and  taste  of  the  architect,  the  faithfulness  of  the  builder,  and 
the  care  with  which  it  has  been  supervised  during  its  erection.  Our  responsibilities 
have  not  been  small ;  but  on  you,  Sir,  and  on  the  students  who  shall  go  out  year 
by  year  from  these  halls,  rests  a  far  larger  responsibility — the  reputation  of  the 
Institution.  But,  looking  to  the  future  by  the  light  of  the  past,  we  rest  the  respons- 
ibility on  you  with  no  misgiving.  I  have  the  honor,  Sir,  of  now  presenting  you 
with  the  Keys  of  the  Hall. 

Brief  addresses  then  followed  from  high  officials  present — the 
Governor  of  Pennsylvania,  the  State  Superintendent  of  Public 
Instruction,  the  President  of  the  Easton  School  Board,  the  Chief 
Burgess  of  Easton,  the  President  of  the  Borough  Council  and 
many  others  eminent  in  Church  and  State.  In  the  evening  there 
was  an  informal  Reception  at  the  building.  The  main  Auditorium, 
the  well-appointed  Lecture  rooms,  the  spacious  halls  for  the  Scien- 
tific collections  and  apparatus  and  the  numerous  corridors  were  all 
brilliantly  lighted  and  thronged  by  an  enthusiastic  multitude. 

This  Reception  recalls  an  incident  which  well  illustrates  Mr. 
Pardee's  modesty.  The  Borough  Council  in  accepting  the  invita- 
tion of  the  College  authorities  to  attend  the  Dedication  had,  among 
other  Resolutions,  passed  the  following:  — 

Resolved,  That  a  Committee  be  appointed  in  connection  with  a  Committee  of 
our  citizens  to  confer  with  Mr.  Pardee  to  ascertain  whether  it  will  be  agreeable  to 
him  on  the  evening  of  October  21st,  to  receive  the  citizens  of  Easton  who  desire 
on  that  occasion  to  call  upon  him  and  testify  their  respect  for  him  and  their  appre- 
ciation of  the  noble  gifts  made  by  him  to  the  College. 

To  this  Mr.  Pardee  made  the  following  reply: 

Hazleton,  October  13,  1873. 
Messrs.  Edward  H.  Green,  John  Stewart,  McEvers  Forman,  and  others,  Committee, 
Gentlemen . — I    have   the   honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt   through  Dr. 
Caltell,  ol  your  kind  invitation  to  meet  in  a  public  reception  of  such  of  the  citizens 


of  Easton  as  should  do  me  the  honor  of  calling  upon  me  on  the  evening  of  the 
2 1  st  inst. 

There  will  be  on  that  evening  a  social  gathering  of  the  Trustees  and  Faculty 
with  their  families  and  the  students  of  the  College,  in  the  new  Hall,  and  there  and 
with  them  I  shall  be  happy  to  meet  the  citizens  of  Easton  and  other  friends.  While 
deeply  sensible  of  the  high  honor  conferred  on  me  by  your  request,  I  would  beg 
leave  most  respectfully  to  decline  a  more  public  and  marked  reception. 

Very  respectfully, 

A.  Pardee. 

This  letter  was  sent  to  me  with  a  brief  personal  note,  so  char- 
acteristic of  Mr.  Pardee's  thoughtfulness  and  delicacy  of  feeling, 
that  I  must  read  it  to  you : 

Hazleton,  Oct.  13,  1873. 

Dear  Sir. — I  enclose  my  reply  to  the  Committee  of  Citizens  of  Easton,  which 
please  hand  them.  I  hope  my  conclusion  will  be  agreeable  to  them,  for  I  deeply 
feel  their  kindness  and  would  do  nothing  that  would  seem  to  show  a  want  of 
appreciation  of  it.  But  I  could  not  bring  myself  to  agree  to  a  more  demonstrative 
reception.  Yours, 

A.  Pardee. 

This  shrinking  from  any  demonstration  in  his  honor  or,  in- 
deed, any  public  reference  in  his  presence  to  the  great  work  he  had 
done  for  the  College,  was  characteristic  of  Mr.  Pardee.  Of  course, 
at  Commencements  and  other  public  occasions  such  references 
could  not  be  restrained,  and  they  were  always  received  by  the 
assemblage  with  enthusiastic  cheers.  The  older  members  of  the 
Faculty  will  recall  the  ineffectual  attempts  at  such  times  to  get  in 
response  a  speech  from  Mr.  Pardee.  Sometimes  the  prolonged 
cheers  would  get  him  upon  his  feet,  but  it  was  only  to  acknowledge 
the  kindness  of  the  company  and  to  say  he  "never  could  make  a 
speech."  Once  indeed,  at  the  Commencement  Dinner,  Governor 
Pollock,  who  presided,  did  get  a  speech  from  Mr.  Pardee,  and  it 
was  a  model  of  brevity,  aptness  and  good  sense,  as  well  as  modesty. 
Said  he  : 

You  give  me  too  much  credit  and  the  Professors  too  little  for  the  great 
work  the  College  is  doing.  You  should  remember  the  answer  the  old  painter 
gave  when  asked  with  what  he  mixed  his  paints  to  produce  such  wonderful  effects. 
He  said  it  was  "  with  brains  !  "  What  would  all  the  money  given  to  Lafayette 
College  have  amounted  to  if  the  Professors  had  not  mixed  it  with  brains  ? 

The  Pardee  Scientific  Department  was  now  fully  equipped,  and 
the  number  of  students  rapidly  increased.  The  year  following  the 
dedication  of  Pardee  Hall,  the  Freshman  class  numbered  one 
hundred  and  fifteen,  and  the  whole  number  upon  the  College  roll 
was  three  hundred  and  nineteen.  It  can  readily  be  imagined 
what   labor  and  responsibility  all  this  added  for  the  Trustees  of 


the  College,  in  which  I  can  assure  you  Mr.  Pardee  took  his  full 
share.  He  "gave  himself  with  his  gift."  Although  so  pressed 
was  he  by  his  numerous  and  varied  and  important  business  opera- 
tions, that  he  never  took  "a  day  off"  for  a  vacation,  yet  he 
took  many  days  off  from  his  own  work,  that  he  might  by  a  careful 
study  become  thoroughly  acquainted  with  the  College  management 
even  in  its  minutest  details.  He  never  missed  a  meeting  of  the 
Board,  and  was  always  ready  to  serve  on  its  committees,  no  matter 
how  much  time  or  labor  the  business  in  hand  demanded. 

And  Mr.  Pardee  was  so  quiet  in  his  manner  and  ordinarily  so 
undemonstrative,  that  only  those  who  knew  him  well  could  appre- 
ciate his  force  of  character,  and  the  promptness  and  vigor  with 
which  he  discharged  every  duty.  He  never  put  off  to-day's  duty 
till  to-morrow  ;  and  it  seems  the  very  "  irony  of  fate,"  that  when  it 
was  announced  that  he  "  left  no  will,"  the  public  journals  referred  to 
this  as  another  illustration  of  the  folly  of  men  so  immersed  in  busi- 
ness as  to  put  off  such  an  important  duty  from  day  to  day  until  it 
is  too  late  !  Mr.  Pardee  never  put  off  anything ;  and  it  is  due  to 
his  memory  that  I  should  say  here  that  his  views  as  to  this  matter 
of  a  "  will  "  were  well  known  to  his  intimate  friends.  Everyone, 
he  said,  must  decide  this  question  for  himself,  but  his  own  opinion 
was  that  the  law  provided  a  just  and  equitable  division  of 
a  man's  property  among  his  family,  and  that  any  distribution  other 
than  to  these  he  thought  should  be  made  by  a  man  during  his  life- 
time. Mr.  Pardee  was  reticent  as  to  what  he  'himself  would  do  in 
this  as  in  most  other  matters,  yet  to  those  who  knew  what  his  few 
words  meant  upon  any  subject,  the  announcement  that  "  Ario  Par- 
dee left  no  will,"  occasioned  no  surprise.  It  never  occurred  to 
them  that  it  was  through  neglect ;  nor  were  they  disappointed  that 
he  made  no  public  bequests.  He  had  given  what  he  thought  was 
right  and  proper  during  his  life-time,  when  he  might  have  employed 
all  his  money,  as  indeed  so  many  do,  in  "making  more,"  to  be 
distributed  by  the  "dead  hand."  The  church  edifice  in  which  he 
worshipped  at  Hazleton  was  his  gift,  with  the  parsonage  and  the 
land  on  which  they  were  built ;  and  he  gave  to  Lafayette  College, 
in  successive  donations,  as  the  occasion  seemed  to  demand,  half  a 
million  of  dollars.  What  he  gave  more  privately,  here  and  there, 
can  never  be  known.  More  than  once  was  I  made  his  almoner  in  the 
distribution  of  these  private  benefactions.  When  I  happened  to  speak 
one  day,  (in  his  presence,  but  with  no  thought  of  appealing  to  him 
for  aid,)  of  a  clergyman,  a  friend  of  his  and  mine,  who  was  painfully 
embarrassed  for  the  need  of  a  new  overcoat,  Mr.  Pardee,  as  he  left  the 


23 

room,  slipped  a  fifty-dollar  bank  note  into  my  hand,  saying,  "  of 
course  he  need  not  know  from  whom  this  comes."  What  he  gave 
in  this  quiet  way  is  known  only  to  the  All-seeing  One — but  the 
aggregate  must  have  been  large. 

To  all  of  his  colleagues  in  the  Board  he  was  uniformly 
courteous — often  indeed  hesitating  to  express  his  opinion  upon 
questions  of  expenditure  under  discussion  in  the  Board,  lest  he 
should  seem  to  be  "dictating"  how  his  money  should  be  spent! 
Naturally,  with  the  President  of  the  College  he  was  brought  into 
very  close  relations.  Many  and  many  conferences  did  I  have  with 
him,  and  upon  matters  of  gravest  importance.  We  met  by  appoint- 
ment at  his  house  and  at  mine,  and  on  the  cars,  and  at  hotels  in 
New  York  or  Philadelphia,  and  discussed  important  principles  in 
College  administration  and  minute  executive  details.  Not  unfre- 
quently  there  were  conflicting  opinions  to  be  reconciled  and  opposite 
policies  to  be  adjusted — enough,  it  would  seem,  to  harass  and  irritate 
any  man  living ;  but  he  was  always  the  same  kind,  patient,  wise  coun- 
sellor. Never,  in  all  those  twenty  years,  anywhere  or  at  any  time, 
did  Mr.  Pardee  give  me  an  impatient  word.  I  cannot  believe  that 
any  College  President  ever  had,  or  ever  could  have,  an  associate  in 
the  Board  of  Management  more  considerately  kind,  more  loyal, 
more  helpful.  To  my  honored  successor  in  the  Presidency  Mr. 
Pardee  was  the  same  sympathetic  and  helpful  friend  and  counsellor. 
Dr.  Knox  had  taken  his  seat  in  the  Board  the  same  year  with  Mr. 
Pardee  and,  like  him,  had  given  his  hand  and  his  heart  to  the  work. 
There  were  but  few  important  Committees  of  the  Board  upon  which 
both  of  these  men  were  not  placed ;  and  Mr.  Pardee  soon  learned 
to  appreciate  the  high  character,  the  learning  and  ability,  the  sound 
judgment  and  conscientious  performance  of  duty  which  distinguished 
his  colleague.  When,  therefore,  in  1883,  the  Presidency  became 
vacant,  Mr.  Pardee  at  once  turned  to  Dr.  Knox  (as  did  the  other 
members  of  the  Board)  and  besought  him  to  take  the  vacant  Chair, 
and  he  was  always  to  him  the  same  steadfast,  helpful  counsellor  that 
he  was  to  me. 

Had  Mr.  Pardee's  life  been  spared  he  would  have  been  the  same 
to  Dr.  Warfield,  and  there  are  for  me  delightful  memories  which  con- 
nect Mr.  Pardee  with  your  honored  President.  Serving  with  him 
upon  the  Executive  Committee  to  which  the  Trustees  referred  the 
nomination  of  a  successor  to  Dr.  Knox,  we  were  again  brought 
together  in  many  conferences  as  in  former  years,  and  I  can  testify  to 
his  joy  when  the  good  Providence  of  God  brought  Dr.  Warfield 
within  our  view,  and  to  his  anxious  solicitude  lest  by  any  delay  we 


24 

should  fail  to  secure  him  for  the  vacant  chair.  The  very  last  lines  I 
received  from  his  pen  had  reference  to  this.  Writing  to  me  as 
Chairman  of  a  sub-committee  and  in  reply  to  a  letter  of  mine  giving 
reasons  for  immediate  action  he  says  : 

I  have  yours  this  morning,  and  am  decidedly  in  favor  of  making  a  square 
offer  of  the  Presidency  of  Lafayette  College  to  President  Warfield,  with  the 
assurance  on  the  part  of  the  Executive  Committee  of  the  Board  that  he  will  be 
formally  elected  as  soon  as  the  Board  can  be  convened.  As  far  as  I  can  do  so,  I 
would  authorize  you  to  make  the  offer  either  by  letter,  or  by  personal  interview  at 
once. 

To  us  all  it  must  ever  be  a  cause  for  great  rejoicing  that  Mr. 
Pardee  was  spared  to  witness  the  inauguration  of  your  honored  Presi- 
dent at  the  last  commencement,  and  on  that  happy  occasion  to 
place,  as  President  of  the  Board  of  Trustees,  the  Keys  of  the 
College  in  his  hands. 

But  now,  returning  to  the  earlier  days,  I  must  recall  that  night 
of  horror — June  4,  1879 — when  we  all  stood  helpless  and  agonized 
as  we  watched  our  beautiful  Pardee  Hall  burn  to  the  ground.  But 
upon  that  scene  I  dare  not  dwell.  I  never  can  recall  it  without  a 
shudder. 

Let  me  hasten  to  say  that  in  less  than  eighteen  months  a  new 
Pardee  Hall  arose,  constructed  upon  the  same  general  plan  exter- 
nally as  the  first,  but  much  improved  in  the  interior  arrangements, 
as  suggested  by  the  eight  years'  experience  of  the  first  building. 
And  then  came  another  Dedication  Day — November  30,  1880 — 
more  glorious  even  than  the  first.  The  Rev.  Dr.  Paxton,  Modera- 
tor of  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  made  the 
Dedication  prayer,  and  our  own  honored  and  beloved  Professor 
March  delivered  the  address.  The  services  of  that  ever  memorable 
day  are  a  matter  of  recent  history,  and  you  scarcely  need  to  be 
reminded  of  the  notable  assemblage  that  graced  the  occasion.  The 
Governor  of  Pennsylvania  was  in  attendance  with  his  Staff;  the 
President  of  the  United  States  came  in  a  special  car  from  Washing- 
ton with  a  distinguished  party,  including  two  members  of  his  Cabi- 
net, and  also  the  Assistant  Postmaster-General,  the  United  States 
Commissioner  of  Education,  and  the  General  of  the  Army ;  then 
there  were  high  Dignitaries  of  the  Church,  distinguished  Educators, 
Judges,  Legislators  and  men  eminent  in  all  the  learned  professions 
and  in  business  life;  the  borough  authorities  and  other  prominent 
citizens  of  Easton  and  of  the  Valley  were  present;  from  all  parts  of 
the  country  came  congratulations  by  letter  and  telegraph ;  and  the 
speeches  on  the  College  campus  in  the  morning  and  those  which 


25 

followed  the  Banquet  given  in  the  Hall  were  worthy  of  this  most 
notable  assemblage. 

In  his  noble  address  to  the  great  multitude  gathered  in  front 
of  the  Hall  the  President  of  the  United  States  emphasized  the  vital 
importance  to  a  republic  of  popular  education,  and  in  conclusion 
said  :  (I  quote  from  the  New  York  Tribune' 's  report) 

Wealthy  men  understand  that  in  no  way  can  they  do  much  good  to  those 
who  come  after  them,  in  no  way  can  they  build  to  themselves  such  a  monument 
that  will  preserve  gratefully  their  memories  in  future  generations,  as  by  endowing 
a  College,  a  University,  a  Scientific  School.  Therefore,  my  friends,  we  are  here 
on  this  occasion,  to  do  honor  to  the  man  who  has  set  an  example.  And  what  an 
example  it  is !  He  does  it  while  he  is  alive  and  can  see  that  his  wishes  are  pro- 
perly carried  out  and  the  work  well  done.  I  am  glad  to  be  here,  glad  to  join  with 
you  in  saying  God  bless  Mr.  Pardee  ! 

The  mention  of  Mr.  Pardee's  name  led  to  loud  and  long-con- 
tinued cheers  and  repeated  calls  for  him  to  make  a  speech.  With 
some  difficulty  I  persuaded  him  to  come  out  from  the  rear  of  the 
Presidential  party  to  the  front,  in  full  view  of  the  multitude,  and 
when  silence  was  restored,  he  simply  expressed  his  delight  that  the 
building  was  "  completely  restored  and  even  improved  for  its  work," 
but  modestly  disclaimed  all  credit  for  this.  "It  is,"  said  he, 
"through  the  wise  forethought  of  the  Trustees  in  keeping  up  an 
ample  insurance  that  we  have  to-day  the  Hall  restored  to  the  Col- 
lege." Notwithstanding  this  modest  disclaimer,  the  afternoon  ad- 
dresses in  the  crowded  Auditorium  had  frequent  references  to  his 
munificent  gift,  and  every  mention  of  his  name  was  received  with 
prolonged  cheers.  Said  the  Secretary  of  War,  Ex-Governor  Ramsey, 
of  Minnesota,  an  Alumnus  of  Lafayette:  "  But  we  are  here  to-day 
to  inaugurate  this  grand  Hall,  one  which  every  man  in  the  country, 
and  especially  Pennsylvanians,  will  be  proud  of,  the  munificent  gift 
of  one  great  public  benefactor.  The  world  everywhere  may  be 
proud  of  such  a  man;"  and  General  Sherman  said:  "He  has 
received  to-day  stronger  thanks  than  words,  for  he  can  see  in  every 
face  how  much  his  act  is  honored  and  appreciated.  His  name  will 
be  honored  for  all  time." 

But  I  cannot  linger  upon  the  memories  of  that  happy  day  ;  I 
must  come  now  to  the  severance  of  the  intimate  official  relations  be- 
tween Mr.  Pardee  and  myself  upon  my  retirement  from  the  Presi- 
dency of  the  College  ;  and  although  these  last  words  I  fear  must  be 
even  more  personal  to  myself  than  what  has  preceded,  I  must,  if  for 
no  other  reason  than  to  illustrate  Mr.  Pardee's  kindly  sympathy, 
refer  to  what  was  to  me  so  great  a  trial. 


26 

The  President's  report  to  the  Trustees  of  the  College  at  the 
close  of  the  fiscal  year  1882,  is  printed  in  full  in  the  Lafayette 
Toutnal  of  January  1883.  After  a  somewhat  extended  review  of 
the  year,  ■'*  the  most  delightful  to  me  since  my  connection  with  the 
College,"  it  closes  with  these  words  : 

With  such  pleasant  recollections  of  the  year  just  closed,  and  with  such  a 
brightening  outlook  I  enter  upon  my  twentieth  year  of  the  Presidency  with  only 
one  misgiving;  and  that  is  whether,  in  the  present  state  of  my  health,  I  have  the 
strength  fully  to  discharge  the  arduous  and  responsible  duties  which  are  insepar- 
able from  my  position.  I  am  deeply  grateful  for  the  generous  and  unfailing  sup- 
port of  my  colleagues  in  the  Board  and  the  Faculty  and  of  the  Alumni,  but  even 
with  this  help  the  continuous  anxiety  and  strain  of  my  ordinary  work,  and  the 
necessity  at  times  of  severe  and  prolonged  exertion,  seem  to  me  to  demand  more 
than  my  present  strength.  But  I  am  firmly  persuaded  that  the  great  work  here 
will  continue  with  increasing  power  and  usefulness,  whoever  may  be  the  men 
honored  of  God  to  carry  it  on . 

What  was  foreshadowed  here  became  definite  as  the  year  went 
on.  My  health  was  utterly  broken  by  the  long  and  exhausting 
strain  of  twenty  years  and,  assured  by  my  physicians  that  only  a 
prolonged  rest,  perhaps  for  years,  from  work  and  from  all  responsi- 
bility, could  restore  it,  I  laid  before  the  Board  at  its  next  meeting 
in  June  my  resignation  of  the  Presidency.  Of  course  I  had  not 
taken  this  step  without  full  conference  with  Mr.  Pardee,  and  it  is 
with  the  deepest  emotion  I  recall  his  tender  and  thoughtful  sym- 
pathy during  all  these  trying  hours.  He  was  at  my  house  more 
frequently  than  ever,  and  his  letters  showed  a  kindly  consideration 
that  if  possible  endeared  him  to  me  more  than  ever.  "  I  shall  very 
much  regret,"  he  wrote,  "if  your  conclusion  as  to  resigning  is 
final,"  but  fully  recognizing  the  condition  of  my  health  he  adds 
that  however  painful  the  separation  may  be,  "your  own  judgment 
and  that  of  Mrs.  Cattell  as  to  what  is  best  for  you  should  and  must 
govern."  Though  he  was  willing  to  serve,  and  did  serve,  on  the 
Committee  appointed  by  the  Board  to  request  me  to  withdraw  my 
resignation  and  to  arrange,  if  possible,  some  plan  by  which  I  could 
secure  the  needed  rest  and  still  remain  at  the  head  of  the  College, 
he  saw  in  this  last  conference  with  me  on  the  subject  that  it  could 
not  be  done — and  the  intimate  official  relations  between  my  honored 
friend  and  myself,  which  had  existed  for  so  many  years  came  to  an 
end.  The  last  official  act  I  performed  as  President  of  Lafayette 
College  was  in  this  hall,  which  bears  his  honored  name.  On 
Founder's  Day,  October  21,  1883 — just  twenty  years,  to  a  day,  after 
my  election  to  the  Presidency — I  presided  over  the  exercises  in  this 


27 

Auditorium,  and   when  I  left   Pardee  Hall  that  day,  I  was  no 
longer  President  of  Lafayette. 

I  must  add  one  thing  more — a  reference  to  the  last  sad  rites 
that  were  paid  to  his  memory  in  Hazleton.  Mr.  Pardee  had  lived 
in  the  town  for  more  than  fifty  years — always  a  kind  and  thoughtful 
friend,  a  helpful  neighbor,  a  just  and  upright  citizen  ;  and  his  home 
life  was  one  of  typical  beauty.  He  was  a  man  so  pure  in  his  heart,  so 
stainless  in  his  life — in  every  way  so  upright — that  those  among  whom 
he  had  lived  so  long  and  who  knew  him  so  well,  could  set  his  char- 
acter before  their  sons  as  the  model  upon  which  their  own  might 
well  be  formed.  Prospered  in  his  business  he  had  become  a  million- 
aire, but  he  lived  among  his  neighbors  and  friends  always  the  same 
simple,  unostentatious,  kindly  life ;  and  on  the  day  when  he  was 
borne  to  his  grave  the  very  streets  of  Hazleton  were  crowded  by 
them  as  they  gathered  to  honor  his  memory.  And  men  of  high 
position  came  to  Hazleton  that  day  from  other  parts  of  the  Valley 
and  from  distant  cities  and  towns — men  who  had  been  long  associ- 
ated with  Mr.  Pardee  in  his  many  and  varied  business  enterprises ; 
the  College  too  was  represented — its  honored  President  was  there 
and  members  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  and  of  the  Faculty  and 
many  Alumni.  Never  had  Hazleton  witnessed  such  a  great  and 
notable  throng  of  men  as  were  on  that  day  gathered  to  show  their 
profound  respect  for  the  memory  of  Ario  Pardee. 

Although  I  could  not,  for  one  moment,  hesitate  to  accede  to 
the  request  of  the  family  that  I  should  make  the  address,  yet  I  said 
then,  as  I  say  now  to  you  as  my  closing  words,  Mr.  Pardee  was  so 
dear  to  my  heart  that  my  place  on  the  day  of  his  funeral  should 
have  been,  not  in  the  pulpit  but  in  those  seats  where,  around  his 
lifeless  body,  the  stricken  members  of  his  household  during  this 
service  sat  in  their  silent  and  sacred  sorrow. 


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